§ 12. Mr. Laneasked the Minister of Transport in approximately which year he now expects the Cambridge northern 965 bypass to be completed and open to traffic.
§ Mr. LaneI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that information, but in view of the recent upsurge of public opinion, about which I shall be writing to the Minister, will he look further at the possibility of advancing the date of both the northern and western bypasses? Will he remember that the public concern is about human safety as well as about traffic efficiency and that an improvement in the east-west road network is vital, not only to Cambridge, but to a wide area of East Anglia?
Mr. BrownThere is nothing in the hon. Gentleman's remarks with which I would disagree. At this stage work is simply at the point of identifying a line. It is hoped that these proposals might be advertised towards the end of 1971. The timing depends on the completion of the statutory processes and on the availability of funds. The A45 has already been identified in the Green Paper as a strategic route.